Recipe: Triple-X Brownies (using whole almonds and chocolate chips)

TRIPLE-X BROWNIES

"These brownies are the biggest, darkest, dampest, sweetest, over-the-top gargantuan examples of chocolate excess ever to pass between the lips of a chocoholic. The finished batter is quite moist and is a little tricky to cut, so it's best to make these brownies a day ahead. You will find that half a day in the refrigerator will make them much easier to cut into portions."

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken in pieces
31/2 cups sugar
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups whole almonds, skins on
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 10x15x1-inch jellyroll pan with foil. Spray with spray shortening and set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, begin melting the butter. When the butter is half melted, add the unsweetened chocolate, remove from the heat when the chocolate is half melted, and stir until the butter and chocolate are completely melted.

Stir in the sugar, salt, vanilla, and eggs until mixture is smooth. Add the flour and stir until completely incorporated. Mix in the almonds and the chocolate chips. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is dry but the interior is still damp and has not yet firmed. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.

Cover with a rack and invert. Remove pan and peel off foil. Replace pan and invert back into pan. Refrigerate until chilled through and solid.

Trim off edges and cut with a serrated knife into about 6 dozen small or 3 dozen large pieces. Store, unrefrigerated and wrapped in plastic, for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to several months.

Makes 6 dozen small or 3 dozen large brownies
Adapted from source: One-Pot Chocolate Desserts by Andrew Schloss with Ken Bookman